March 10 1999

Thankful that this is our last week on the PC since 1976

Inside:

Special Women’s Issue
.. throughout

Basketball Provincials
page 11

Is Your Car Safe?
«page 3

 

Volume 23 Issue 21

 

International Women’s Day-—A huge success

Zahra Jamal

It’s not just about women’s equality;
it’s also about celebrating the strug-
gles all people must overcome when
they are considered unequal due to
their race, physical stature, sexual
preference and all other differences
which set us apart from what is
considered the norm. The Interna-
tional Women’s Day dinner at Douglas
College turned out to be a huge
success when women and men of
different backgrounds and experiences
came together to celebrate these
differences. Together, everyone ate
and enjoyed a feast of cooking from
many different cultures. Then, guests
sat back and enjoyed the rest of the
evening while being entertained with
powerful speeches, skits, and cultural
dances.

It all started with the opening
remarks of Chief Rhonda Larrabee
from the Qayqayt First Nations (New
Westminster Band). When asked to
comment afterwards, she shared her
views on the treatment of women in
Western society compared to Native
culture. Due to colonialism, she grew
up without the luxury of being fully
influenced by her Native culture, but
still she observes that Native women
are more honoured. In their bands, for
example, men are in charge of going
out and catching game to feed their
children. It’s true, Larrabee says, that
women must work very hard at home
while looking after their kids, but
men still have to face the bitter North
American climate and all sorts of
dangers when hunting.

Another guest speaker was Viola
Thomas, from the United Native
Nations. Thomas shared a powerful
speech as she expressed her bitterness
and resentment towards the judicial
system, which once buried and
ignored the rights of First Nations
peoples. She illustrated the absence of
justice in the case of Helen Betty
Osborn, who was brutally stabbed 57
times with a screwdriver. “And the
court of this land would not consider
appeal in the brutal death of that
young indigenous woman,” she
exclaimed. In recognizing the oppres-
sion that other cultures in Canada had
to undergo, she reminded everyone
about slave labour of the Chinese
working on our railway. “The Chinese
were paid the lowest, the white guys
were paid the highest. The white guys
did not have to stick a dynamite stick
in the canyon to blow up the rock, it
was the Chinese men.” She also

stressed how our differences should
be “honoured rather than used as a
tool to tear us apart and keep us
apart.”

Students from Positive Commu-
nications group (which is funded by
Safer Campuses Committee and
organized by the Women’s Centre)
performed skits to illustrate some of
the differences and phobias people are
faced with today. They addressed the
myths and stereotypes revolving
around homosexuality and sexual
harassment. They also brought to our
attention certain instances of dis-
crimination regarding homosexuality
happening here at Douglas College.
“Stats show that for youth between
the ages of 17-25, 60% of attempted
suicides and 30% of successful
suicides are gay related,” explained
the student.

Many people agreed that
International Women’s Day was about
much more than women’s equality.
“It's not just about women’s rights,
it’s about women’s being,” says
Douglas College student Habon Farah.
She shares her view of this event as
she explains, “These people are here
to remind us to never give up. This
support system helps us see the light
at the end of the tunnel; opportuni-
ties are out there for us to grab them
no matter what type of woman we
are. Whether we believe in God, we
believe in Jesus, we believe in rocks,
we're women.”

As the evening got closer to its
end, Unsung Heroine awards were

 

given out to members of the college
who have played an active role in
addressing equality issues. Among
these award winners were student

Peer Support worker Kathy Kirby, and

Douglas College Student Union Vice
President External, Amanda Wheeler.
And even if one didn’t win an award,

they were bound to win a door prize,

which outweighed the cost of the

ticket itself. Dinner for two tickets at

local restaurants, bed & breakfast on
Galiano Island and cosmetics certifi-
cates were some of the prizes given
out by generous contributors.

If you missed out on the event
this year, don’t miss out next year—
especially if you want to win one of
those door prizes!

 

 

Fire
Causing heat
in India
Zahra Jamal

On December 12 1998, Dilip Kumar,
Indian actor and supporter of the
controversial film Fire, found approxi-
mately 100 Shiv Sena party members
protesting outside his home wearing
only their underwear. Their reason:
“It’s the only language Kumar would
understand.”

A critically acclaimed and
international award winning movie,
Fire is one of the first movies to
expose lesbianism in the Indian
culture. The characters playing
sisters-in-law have a sexual relation-
ship to curb the pain of their hus-
bands’ negligence towards them.

Throughout December, when the
movie was released, the Shiv Sena
political party raided cinemas across
the nation: ripping down posters,
breaking windows and threatening
cinema owners for not banning the
lesbian-themed film.

These demonstrations were
attempts to gain prominent media
attention and diminish any prospect
of women’s liberalism gaining influ-
ence in India’s male-driven society.
The protestors even notified the
media in advance. Shabana Azmi, who
played one of the leading actresses, is
a member of the Indian Parliament
and said the protests were “part of an
orchestrated campaign to keep the
right-wing ideology in the news after
a poor performance in recent elec-
tions.”

 

continued on page 6